Thursday, 31 December 2015

Jesus said, "'Then if anyone says to you, "Look! Here is the Messiah!" or "There he is!" - do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.'" Matthew 24:23,24 (NRSV)

How are we to recognize a true prophet?

One who is close to God has an open, loving heart; personal integrity; and humble, simple ways.

His/her life is characterized by joy, non-violence, and gentleness.

He/she has a peace that is palpable.

Egotistical, self-obsessed, social climbing celebrities are best avoided.
It is unlikely they are close to God.

Monday, 28 December 2015

Think Death Metal music which is overt Satanism in our culture.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Covert Satanism is rife in our music, movies, T.V., literature, and sports.

Sex and drugs and rock and roll equals death to God.

This is what we are being fed day and night.

We are living backwards in a perpetual dance of death.

But this death is not a real thing.
It is a concept - a negation.

There is no devil in reality.

Only God's Love.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Thursday, 24 December 2015

"In the days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills.
"People shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.'" Micah 4:1,2 (NRSV)

Many people seek to know the ways of God.

His ways are the ways of peace:
"They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." Micah 4:3 (NRSV)

Many world leaders and powerful people have claimed to seek God's will.

But most will be surprised and saddened to learn that His ways are non-violent and merciful. He is even-handed and gracious.

For God's will for us is that we should love one another.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

The first relationship between God and Adam was a same-sex relationship.

And because God was Father/Mother and Adam was male/female (i.e. this was before Eve was created from part of Adam) it closely resembles a modern same-sex relationship - a young gay man will often seek an older man who is a kind of father figure.

So gay men can relate to God as The Father.

This is the image that Jesus gave us of God - a loving Father.

Gay people also often create a family from their friends and lovers.
This relates to the spiritual idea that all people are our brothers and sisters.

If God is our Father then everyone is our brother or sister.

Although same-sex relationships do not of themselves create children, modern technology and surrogacy can take the place of heterosexual sex and provide a gay couple with children.

So gay couples are closer than ever to equal status with heterosexual couples.

The last hurdle to overcome is the Biblical injunctions which seem to condemn homosexual acts.

These passages have been dealt with extensively by many modern scholars and most people seem now to be convinced that the Bible does not explicitly ban gay relationships as they exist in the modern world.

So there is no impediment to gay people being accepted as full members of the Church - receiving communion and marrying as others do.

The Bible was written in a time when homosexual orientation was not understood as it is today. So homosexual acts were thought of as perversions of a heterosexual orientation and were therefore immoral. This is the basis of Biblical moral objections to same-sex acts and it is based on a false premise.

So, if we accept that gay people are born with a same-sex orientation, then there can be no further objections to gay membership and marriage in the modern Church.

Finally, gay people go through a long process of identity development and suffering caused by the prejudice and hatred of society.

This forces gay people to develop in a way that heterosexual people may not.

So gay people have an extra dimension to their personalities which heterosexual people may not have. Gay people are often more compassionate and sure of who they are than others. And this makes them better qualified to practice a mature spirituality.

Unfortunately many gay people have been rejected by the Churches and have in turn rejected the concept of God and religion altogether.

So we are crying out for Gay Spirituality.

A spirituality which is accepting and celebrates our gay identities and relationships.

Perhaps the Age of Aquarius will provide us with this much needed covenant.

Monday, 14 December 2015

While it is true that some suffer more than others the fact remains that all are worthy of God's Love.

If we turn to Him we experience joy and peace.

"Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other." Isaiah 45:22 (NRSV)

Turn and be healed.

Healed in body, mind, and spirit.

Anyone can experience God's Love.

And everyone will enter into heaven.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Friday, 11 December 2015

Modernism was a time of certainty - science knew everything, everything was enclosed within a Newtonian mindset, and progress was inevitable.

Post-Modernism is the time after Modernism when quantum mechanics and astronomy proved that Newtonianism was not universal, there were things that science did not know, and progress went backwards.

We are now moving forwards from the closed mind of modern materialism to a mind which is more open to spiritual dimensions - mysticism is emerging in the world's religions and people are becoming active through the internet.

We live in exciting times.

But it is important to remember what happened to the 1960s generation - their idealism was perverted and betrayed by their rock legends until their youthful purity was selfish and sinful, corrupt and criminal.

Nothing much remains of 60s idealism.

And what they have handed down to the next generation will suffer the same fate unless we see what betrayed them.

Tuesday, 1 December 2015

God is with the lowly, the poor, the disadvantaged.
He dwells with the disabled, the persecuted, the starving.

He lifts up the humble.

He hears their prayers.

And you, who are the winners of this world, what do you know of God?

What do you know of His ways?

Mercy, forgiveness, justice, compassion, love.....

You would do better to take your lead from the humble poor.

"'So the last will be first, and the first will be last.'" Matthew 20:16 (NRSV)

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]